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Written by: -
Laura Norwitz & Lawrence Lustig
Philadelphia, PA
Comments: - Guyanese People: The Guyanese people are generally
extremely friendly. Because there is almost no tourism in the country people find it hard
to believe you are there simply for vacation. Many people stopped us on the streets,
generally to find out how we liked their country. A friendly demeanor on your part in such
cases will help set the mood. Guyana is really a Caribbean rather than Latin American
country. The Guyanese population is roughly split between people of African and East
Indian origin. The greeting "Hey, white boy" is usually friendly rather than
threatening. There are probably not more than several hundred white people living in the
country; if you are white you are automatically an object of interest. American television
is received via satellite, the people are generally well informed about world affairs, and
you will be hard pressed to find anyone who does not have relatives in the U.S. or Canada.
Until 1966 Guyana was a colony of England, the national language is English.
Personal Safety: Guyana is an extremely poor country (the average wage is not sufficient
to feed a family at market rates for food). Everyone in the country will constantly warn
you about the "Teves". This is not an idle warning; Guyana is the only place in
the world where someone actually tried to pick our pockets. We also met people who were
threatened. Show no jewelry or signs of wealth, keep your camera hidden while in
Georgetown, stay in populated areas, and above all be extremely careful where you go at
night. After the pickpocket attempt we kept our pockets and bags pinned shut; several
people noticed this and approved of it.
Travel outside of Georgetown: Travel along the coast and along one inland road is
available by van. The vans all depart from the area around Starbroek Market. Routes are
labeled on the vans and also shouted out by the driver and conductor. The routes are east
(direction of Berbice; we did not travel this way), west (direction of Parika and
"west bank Demararra"), and south (direction of Linden).
West to Parika and beyond: You travel along the coast for about 50 miles; the route is
lined with small houses and agricultural land. At Parika the road runs into the broad
mouth of the Essequibo River. Parika makes an interesting day trip from Georgetown or you
can continue to the much less populated west side of the Essequibo. A ferry service is
available several times a week but much more fun is to cross on a "speedboat".
These are small wooden skimmers with one or two giant outboards. You are given a
waterproof cloth to shield you from the spray. There is intense competition among the
boatmen, make sure that you and your luggage end up in the same boat. This is a great
trip, not to be missed. (Note: The boats don't go after dusk and will not leave without a
full (or overfull) boat, so unless you want to pay for all 10 seats don't arrive in Parika
late in the day.)
On the west side of the Essequibo you can travel by van, bus, or taxi. Everything here is
slower and more run down than in Georgetown. There is a hotel at Suddie, near the town of
Adventure. There are various interesting attractions in the area which people will offer
to take you to. The road continues to Charity and the river. From here west to Venezuela
the coast is mangrove swamps and there is no road. There is a market in Charity every
Monday to which hundreds of people come from upriver and the west by boat. This is a good
opportunity to hire a boat for a day trip upriver to some of the nearby Amerindian
villages and isolated homes and workshops of cottage industry furniture manufacturers. We
went with Sam Naran and paid about US$20 for a trip of several hours. There are some
really creepy people in the bars at Charity.
South from Georgetown: The only route south from Georgetown passes near the airport and
continues to Linden. Linden is a major city and home of the country's bauxite strip mining
industry. It is of no apparent interest in itself but serves as a jumping off point to the
interior. Many gold prospectors pass this way and truck and boat transportation may be
available. About 50 miles south is Waraputra Township, the main camp of the Demararra
Woods Company, with a guesthouse. Demararra Woods selectively harvests the greenheart tree
from the extensive rainforests in this area. The van from Georgetown deposits you at the
Linden market; the road into the interior is across the river (regular passenger ferries
cost US 2 cents). We climbed aboard a company bus for Demararra Woods employees; nobody
said we couldn't. You should arrange accommodations with the central office in Georgetown
before starting this trip. Once at Waraputra many interesting trips into the forest can be
made but you need your own transportation. There is ongoing research being done in this
area by the Dutch who may be willing to show you their work, short of that if you do not
have a Land Rover you have to rely on befriending officials of the company. As in other
parts of Guyana, locals were eager to show us around. Wildlife in the immediate vicinity
of the camp has been hunted out, but within five or ten miles you may see tapirs, peccary,
various smaller fauna, and jaguars. (Note: when we were there the government was trying to
sell off this timber concession and also the bauxite mines to foreign companies. If they
are successful then conditions here may change to the detriment of tourism).
To the interior: Although it is possible to travel into the interior by truck, boat, and
foot the only practical way of reaching the majority of places is to fly. Unfortunately
the entire domestic air service of Guyana Airways fell to pieces the year before we
arrived. Several companies charter small planes and this is really the only way to go. Two
of the companies are Mazerali and Sancar. You can charter your own plane or try and
"hitch" a ride on someone else's chartered plane if seats are available. In the
latter case you will have to pay for your seat; the rate per seat should be the cost of
the flight divided by the number of seats. Conversely if you charter a plane but don't
fill it you may be able to sell the extra seats. If you charter a plane to take you into
the interior and pick you up a week later that's two flights. You must try to sell the
half of each flight that you don't use. The company may help arrange this, but they will
take a cut. The people with seats to sell are usually storekeepers who fly merchandise to
the interior; the people who want seats are usually gold prospectors, or storekeepers who
will use the weight allowance for merchandise. We were fortunate enough to find a
scientific expedition going to Imbaimadai with two seats free, and we chartered our own
plane to come get us out and sold the Georgetown to Imbaimadai portion of that flight to a
shopkeeper with the help of a factotum in Georgetown. At Imbaimadai there were prospectors
lined up at the airstrip looking to buy seats out (this was around Christmas time).
Important: if you arrange to have a plane pick you up on a given day it is critical that
you have an agent in town to make sure that the plane comes to get you. We did, but even
still the plane was a day late. The watchword of air travel in Guyana: be flexible. The
cost for a flight from Georgetown to Imbaimadai and back was between US$250 and US$400
depending on the size of the plane.
There is no accommodation in the interior although at Imbaimadai there is a police
officer, a few houses, and a number of bars. All this exists to serve the gold prospectors
and the atmosphere is very Wild West, right down to the swinging doors and metal cages
around the booze. If you buy anything at all in the interior it will cost five to tens
times the Georgetown price, so don't. You will want to bring a guide with you or be sure
that you can hire one at your destination.
From Imbaimadai it is a day's walk or several hour's boat trip to Maipuri Falls. These
falls are not particularly large as falls go but the location is very scenic. Near the
falls are old Amerindian rock paintings at the Timheri cliffs but you will need either a
guide or good directions and luck to find them. There is great scope for hiking in this
area and we were told that the hunting is good, if you're into that sort of thing. In
Imbaimadai ask for Charles Base, a retired prospector who has opened up a bar and
restaurant near the airstrip, who will probably be able to help you make arrangements for
further travel.
Officially policy in Guyana, at least the month that we were there, is that you need a
permit to visit the interior. This seemed to be true of places that you had to fly to but
not places that you could travel to overland. This permit must be obtained from the
Minister of the Interior. If you intend to visit Amerindian settlements in the interior
you need a second permit from a different Minister. We found that it helped greatly if
your application is "sponsored" by a Guyanese citizen, the more prominent the
better.
Rating: - 9
Weather: - Coastal Guyana is hot all the time although sea breezes help make it tolerable. We were there during rainy season but there was little rain; we were told this is unusual. The inland lowlands do not have the cooling breezes and can be extremely hot and humid. The higher elevations in the interior are quite comfortable and blankets or a sleeping bag may be necessary at night. Guyana lies between 4 and 8 degrees north of the equator.
Terrain: -
Hotels: - Cost: About US$1,000 for two people for one month all costs
in Guyana (including chartered plane) but exclusive of N.Y. to Georgetown airfare.
To and From Guyana: We flew on the scheduled Guyana Airways service from New York. They
may also serve Washington DC and Toronto. The fare was $350. There is sometimes service on
BWIA via Trinidad. After we returned we heard rumors of chartered flights for considerably
less money; you would need to find a Guyanese American to plug into the network for these
flights. Flights can be booked up well in advance. Once in Guyana, reconfirm your flight
early and often. Stories abound of reservations being cancelled. From the airport to
Georgetown public vans or taxis are available. Ask at customs what the correct rate is;
one of the taxi drivers tried to charge us about 30 times the going rate.
Hotels: In Georgetown the Rima Guesthouse on Middle Street is absolutely recommended.
Wooden building with pristine rooms and low rates (about $6 to $10 double) excellent and
knowledgeable management (Mr. Van Rossum and Mrs. Singh). Best of all, during the frequent
power outages they light with oil lamps rather than a generator. Fancier accommodation in
Park Hotel or Pegasus.
In Suddie the Lord's Hotel was recommended to us ($3 to $5 double) but was just OK. In
Parika avoid the Purple Heart Hotel or you will deserve one, but this may be the only
place to stay in Parika.
At Waraputra Township the Demararra Woods Company Guesthouse ($5 to $10 double) but
advance arrangements should be made with the company (we didn't and were taken anyway).
At Imbaimadai no accommodations are available (Pete's Guesthouse, written up in some
current guides has been closed for years) but Mr. Charles Base provided space on the floor
of his uncompleted bar/disco.
Restaurants: In Georgetown the Pegasus and Park Hotels, although expensive as
accommodation, have reasonable restaurants. Our two favorites in town were the Palm Court
and Caribbean Rose which are a little upscale (about US$5 per person for a steak dinner).
The best deal in town is the greasy fried rice at various corner Chinese dives; these vary
in quality.
Route: - Public van and bus on the coast, chartered airplane to
interior.
On the coast: Georgetown and west (Parika, Adventure, Suddie, Charity);
Inland by land: Linden and Waraputra township (Demararra Woods Company);
Inland by air: Imbaimadai, Maipuri Falls, Timheri Rock Paintings.
Essentials: - There is essentially no travel or tourism infrastructure
in Guyana; you must be prepared to make all your own arrangements and this may take time
as it is essential to establish contacts and conform your schedule to whatever
opportunities are available. Anything not produced in Guyana is very expensive and
possibly will not be available. Guyanese products are pretty much limited to sugar, rice,
bananas, and cane furniture.
In particular if you are planning a trip to the interior you should bring all camping
supplies. Along the coast the weather is summerlike all year, but at higher elevations it
can be quite chilly at night. Warm clothes are not available so bring all that you think
you might possibly need (we did find cotton blankets at the Guyana Store in Georgetown).
Hammocks are available and good value.
Malaria is considered to be under control in most of the country, but there are frequent
isolated outbreaks. Hotels supply mosquito netting but if travelling to the interior you
will need your own. Treat all water, including the tap water in Georgetown.
There is an obvious and apparently safe black market which generally yields an 80%
advantage over the bank rate. Money changers congregate on America Street near Starbroek
market. You can also make many transactions with US dollars and obtain the black market
rate or an intermediate rate. Several locals, however, warned us against changing money on
the street so general black market precautions apply.
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